Next travel destination after Europe

Canada.

How many of the US National Parks have you seen?

Seen the Grand Canyon? Mt Rushmore? The Everglades? Yosemite? St Louis Arch? Lincoln Memorial? Mt Rainer? Alabama Foothills? Zion? Yellowstone? Florida Keys? Santa Fe? New Orleans?

Road trip!!!

In North America that would be Quebec City, went there a few years back for a week in the summer and found it absolutely charming and fascinating, the next best thing if one can't go to France itself as regards to French language and culture.

Outside of North America , instead of Europe, then I would say Japan.

Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Punta del Este,
Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Valladolid, Chichen Itza, Uxmal, Merida

I haven’t visited many countries in Europe yet.

My top travel destination that I want to see is Japan, followed by Vietnam and Cambodia, then Brazil. I have been to quite a few South American countries and recommend Peru, as there’s much to see and the people are lovely.

Central Asia (the "Stans")

But a question, where have you been in Europe?

Oooh James has a good one, I’d love to go to Uzbekistan.

And I have to agree with Jennifer — Japan is tops on my list ! Also Morocco — it's really dumb that I have never been there, given how close it is to France !

And Mexico . . .

Australia & New Zealand. They're foreign, but familiar at the same time.

I suggest travelers look to South America.

We have visited it four times and love it. Our favorite countries are Peru, Chile, Argentina and Ecuador.
Peru has wonderful cuisine as well as Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Cusco. Check out PeruAgency.com for tours.

Take a cruise around the Horn of South America from Argentina to Chile (or reverse).

Vist Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, like no other place on Earth.

Your ambition level and budget are a factor. Are you ready for some high points, rather than "life on the ground with locals?" I mean, like Macchu Picchu or Ankor Temples? Are you willing to possibly pay a single supplement for a tour product?

I mention tour (this site is mainly FIT) because I found that Machhu Picchu and the Galapagos worked well, and was easy by tour. People certainly do this on their own, but there's a lot of ... overhead ... on getting to MP. But I found that the Ankor Temples were surprisingly easy to do on your own, and there is a every possible price point in Siem Reap. Of course, by "on your own", I mean hiring a local to take you to the ticket place at 5AM, and then go to a sunrise or other temple site for dawn and the cool of the morning. Our Siem Reap hotel booked us in a new BMW with air conditioning, guide, and driver. He met us on the other side of each temple, with wet towels and water in the cool car. You may choose a noisy, open, tuk-tuk, with a driver who only speaks a little English.

Our top 2 destinations outside of Europe are Peru and Japan. After that, Mexico ( only seen a small part).

Costa Rica, Japan (I’ve only been to Tokyo and Nikko), VietNam, Tanzania, Egypt, and many more.

Thank you EVERYONE!!
I love your responses! There are so many good choices! I have read every single one and appreciate all the great bits of advice.

I have travelled all over the US - EXCEPT for 4 states: Alaska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. Travelled to all the big US destination locations and lots of great small off -the - radar locations. Love the US! Have not visited all of the National parks… great suggestion! I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon!

In Europe- have spent most time in Italy and Germany. Trying to think now… have also been to England, Ireland, France, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands,

I’ve been to Mexico, quite a few Caribbean islands, in Canada have been to British Columbia( one of my favorites) Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Toronto, and Nova Scotia.

Definitely not checking off boxes here for travel- but someone asked… I thoroughly loved all of my trips except maybe one or two..

I have never been to South America, anywhere in Asia, the Middle East or Africa. Never been to Antarctica or the Arctic Circle!!

I am signed up for RS “Best of Italy” next week- my very first guided tour! Excited..
Also planning a solo trip to Spain and Portugal next year.
You have all given me some great ideas, I hope that you all got some too!
I love the idea of Machu Picchu and Patagonia.. thanks for those tips…. And Japan… love to go to Vietnam and Thailand… Bali..so many places and not enough time or money! 🤪

Thanks everyone- I hope this helped you to dream like I’m dreaming of travel now!!
Happy Travels! By the way, if anyone is inclined this post is still open for suggestions!!
Lisa

Oh wait! I want to go to New Zealand and Australia too!
Honestly- I want to go just about everywhere! I love traveling with my husband and friends, but NOTHING beat a good solo trip. I love travelling solo too.

Also… as I am getting closer to my expiration date (see- I didn’t say OLDER 😜) I always try to factor in mostly frugal and authentic travel experiences.. but I’m willing to throw in a very fancy hotel for a few days.. maybe at the end or beginning of my trip depending on destination. I like to reserve day guided tours when travelling solo- with a group hopefully to have some social time with like minded individuals. I’m also completely for the idea of paying a “single supplement” for my peace of mind and private time at the end of the day. Next week is my first real planned 17 day tour so I’ll see how I do with that. I honestly think it sounds quite amazing! No logistics planning- just get my butt to the tour bus on time!
Thanks again, all!

I asked where else. Thanks
So if you want to leave Europe behind, my first choice would be SE Asia while you still can.

But I asked where in Europe because from your posts it looked like you hadnt spent much time out of Western Europe. I dont count the Czech Republic these days its pretty Western.

If you wanted combine some of the Western that you enjoy with something totally new and totally foreign and not as full of tourists, then go East. Sometimes I choose by event or activity. I look for events and activities to serve as the excuse; then at the end realize I didnt need the excuse.

That led to the Rose Festival in Bulgaria and Fly Fishing in Bosnia and Albania and Slovakia. Bosnia truly is where East meets West and often violently and that appears to be spinning up again, another reason to move it to the front of the list. Albania is becoming very travelable, but still devoid of the crowds of Western Tourists. Montenegro has ...... wait ........ let me find a link:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/back-doors-to-the-back-doors-of-europe

There you go......

@JamesE
Thank you so much for the detailed information! I love your suggestions! I will have to investigate further for sure……. Thanks!

Glad I could be useful. I wonder sometimes. If you still want to hunt for new things in Western Europe, look and see where Wizz Air and Ryan Air fly. Sometimes Western Europe to Eastern Europe can be as little as 1.5 hours and $50.

My out of Europe todo list includes
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Georgia
Uzbekistan
Thailand

The other out of Europe trips that sort of work okay with combined with Europe are
Morocco
Egypt
Jordan
Israel

Again, you can find some pretty cheap direct flights from places in the West and in the East. Budapest to Baku is $125 for instance.

" I want to just go about everywhere !"

I suggest focusing on North Germany and the eastern cities and towns, genuine cultural and historical sites. While there are visitors, mainly German and mainly in Berlin relative to other cities, these places are hardly swamped with US and international tourists, not even close, ie, lots and lots of places where you literally could/will be the only anglophone out and about exploring, even on the local trains.

Fantastic for solo traveling too.

OP. You have enthusiasm and desire to go all the places you and others mention, but your next trip is Italy. Back to Italy, again, despite having traveled there before.
Perhaps you are stuck in a comfort zone. You may want to factor that in, motivation wise.

Off to Alaska for 15 days next June. Let's do a cruise, something a little different.

Bhutan is the spot, most unique travel destination in the world, think I. A little far, though.

We have been to SE Asia- Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. Japan. We hope to return to all of these. We were amazed how much we liked Japan, had fabulous experiences there.
We were not thrilled by Argentina at all, disliked Buenos Aires, grungy. Liked Chile more but not enough to return.
Egypt and Jordan, another excellent trip, took a tour. Will return to Jordan.
Morocco, thought we would like it more so crossed it it off our list for a return.

We are currently planning Australia next summer and Florida Keys this winter.

Love the recent suggestions, thanks everyone! As I mentioned before, I hope that all the posters get just as much out of this as I am!
I am not going to respond individually but just in general want to thank you all. So many intelligent, thought provoking posts. I have a lot of ideas cooking up in the brew!
A couple of remarks- please let me know how the Alaska cruise goes! I’ve never been a big “cruiser” but honestly only went on the cheapy cheap with girlfriends when I was very young. I’d love to hear a destination report when you get back! Alaska always has been just one step away for me- my girlfriend in college used to go every summer and work and “slime” the fish in the fish canneries to earn her next years college tuition. Love to go camping and fishing with her- she can filet a fish to this day like nobody’s business! 🤪
Lisa

Antigua, Guatemala followed by several days at Lake Attilan. Truly beautiful, generous people, and what a culture!

I've been to London and Paris, but never to New York City, so I'd like to go there. I also want to take my kids (18 and 13) to see Yellowstone Park and the Sequoias and the Grand Canyon. My husband also used to live in Chicago and would like to go back.

We love Asia! We have been to China 3x, Hong Kong 2x, almost all of SÉ Asia and Japan.I want to return to Japan.
We went to Argentina and Chile too. Buenos Aires was challenging, but had to be on alert for being scammed.
Africa- Egypt, and Morocco. Both very interesting but challenging at times. We took a tour to Egypt which I recommend.
Middle East- Jordan, really enjoyed this country.

Like you we sometimes thank about travel to places other than Europe. So, we booked a private tour to Egypt, Jordan, and Israel for March 2023, 3 couples. So excited. I really want to go to Mexico City and we are trying to find the time. For 2023 we also have a London/Paris trip planned for April (haven’t been), a Disney Caribbean cruise for August with the grandkids, and back to Croatia in September/October. We also are planning a cruise up the coast of Norway in 2024 and inviting all our friends and family (best way to go on a group trip, everyone can book their own passage), and hope to finally get to Japan, very high on my list. The best way to see Alaska is on a cruise. We did one out of Seattle with our children and grandkids in 2017. We would definitely go on another, maybe starting in Anchorage to see different ports. Wherever you decide to go, I’m sure you will have a great time.